France vs Sweden
World Cup 2026 hopefuls France begin their knockout campaign on Tuesday afternoon at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in a mouth-watering meeting with Sweden.
Didier Deschamps’ France stormed Group I with three wins from three, while Graham Potter’s Sweden picked up one of the best eight third places, landing on four points in Group F, behind the Netherlands and Japan and, as when France played Sweden’s neighbours Norway last week, some of the world’s very best strikers will be on show.
France captain Kylian Mbappe has already scored four goals while Sweden hitmen Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak have one each. And with both teams scoring freely we can expect plenty of entertainment when they cross the white line on Tuesday.
Talking Points
Dembele is back with a bang
After a barren period of goalless matches at World Cups and suffering an injury hit season, picking up a muscle strain playing for France against Ukraine, Ousmane Dembele scored in Les Bleus 3-0 win over Iraq, and he followed that up with a stunning first half hat-trick to blow Norway off the pitch in Boston. All three goals were superb left foot finishes from the right side of the penalty area into the far corner and they were delivered with accuracy and ruthlessness which must have sent a shiver down the spines of the 31 other keepers still in the competition.
Dembele has drawn himself up alongside his team-mate Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot, currently led by Lionel Messi who has scored six. France’s World Cup 2026 results have been impressive, as have their performances, but Messi’s Argentina are going well, and the odds will continue to back the South Americans unless Les Bleus keep upping the ante as the tournament progresses. And they certainly have the firepower to do that. As well as Dembele and Mbappe, Desire Doue is a serious goal threat, scoring the fourth against Norway while Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki are both wide men with electric pace and a killer delivery.
Which Sweden will turn up in New Jersey?
Sweden were left to wait for their place in the knockouts after the Netherlands and Japan had taken the top two places in Group F. And we have seen three sides to Potters’ team in a hit and miss group campaign. They started impressively with a 5-1 win over Tunisia as Isak put in a man-of-the-match performance and both he and Gyokeres were on target, before being slapped 5-1 by the Oranje with Anthony Elanga scoring Sweden’s consolation. And it was Newcastle United winger Elanga who scored against Japan to give his team the point they ultimately needed to progress.
Led by Viktor Lindelof, who can play in either the centre of defence or just in front of the back four, Sweden will try to be as solid as they were against Japan and Tunisia while attempting to get more goals from their strike pair of Gyokeres and Isak who are valued near to a combined £200m. The Swedes certainly possess a serious goal threat, but they will need to improve in all aspects of their play if they are to extend their stay in the USA beyond Tuesday.
History
Les Bleus are at their 17th World Cup finals and aiming to win their third, after lifting the 1998 and the 2018 titles, and the latest World Cup 2026 betting odds say Deschamps men are second favourites, behind champions Argentina and ahead of pre-tournament favourites Spain. Sweden are at their 14th World Cup finals, and their best moment came back in 1958 when they finished as runners up, beaten 5-2 in the final by Brazil who picked up their first of five World Cup titles and the great Pele announced himself on the world stage.
France have won five to Sweden’s two of their eight previous encounters, the last meeting ending in a 4-2 win for Les Bleus in the 2020 UEFA Nations League, a result which relegated Sweden to League B.
With five wins from six France have been in superb form and they have been gathering serious momentum already, scoring ten goals in the tournament so far, while Sweden have won two, drawn one and lost three of their last six games.
Betting Tip
France are at SBOTOP odds of 1.25 to win this exciting Round of 32 clash, with Sweden at 11.00 and the draw is at 5.55. I expect Les Bleus to prevail and a game with plenty of goalmouth action. There have been 26 goals from the six games involving these two teams at the World Cup so far and my pick for a correct score is 4-1 to France at a price of 14.00.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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